Barsha’s* life before the orphanage was one of heartache and struggle. Like one-in-four Bangladeshis, Barsha’s family lives below the poverty line. Her family’s home was a humble bamboo shelter. There were few opportunities in her area, and her father struggled with illness.

“I was very poor and was living in a hazardous area,” Barsha says. Because they were unable to provide for her, her parents sent her to an orphanage.

While she was sad to leave her family, the orphanage is where Barsha was given her first Bible in her heart language, provided by American Bible Society financial partners.

“This Bible is the light of my life!” Barsha says. “Now I can read the Bible regularly and live my life with Jesus.”

Many children in Bangladesh whose parents cannot care for them end up living on the streets and turn to crime to survive. Before the orphanage, Barsha said she did bad things and is grateful for the impact the Bible has had on her.

“After accepting Jesus, there was a very big change in my life,” she says. “I love praying, singing, and studying.”

Thanks to her Bible, Barsha has hope for the future and wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

There are many orphaned and hurting children just like Barsha who long for the love and acceptance the Bible can give.

Thanks to the generous support of American Bible Society financial partners, children like Barsha in Bangladesh and around the world are encountering God’s Word in their heart language for the first time.

*Name changed to protect privacy.